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La Fete dans le Jardin avec las Muñequitas y con Sallie, Sophie y Sasha

9/14/2012

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Last Sunday, Sallie came over for a sewing day and we had a tea party in the 90-degree heat with our new crop of small dolls, which we call "Muñequitas." Sallie set up the dolls in the "garden" with a tiny tea set from the Farmer's Market, which matches the tea set made by my sister, Kath at MUDDSLINGER POTS, (aka "Veronica").
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Handpainted doll tea set by MUDDSLINGER POTS
After "La Fete dans le Jardin," which was Sallie's delightful French translation of our "tea party," we retired to our sewing table under the breeze of a fan and had ice cold lemonade and cookies while we worked. Sophie's job was to draw two more doll faces to embroider and Sallie's was to draw and embroider the face for her Raggedy Ann, who is to be a buddy to the Raggedy Andy we made last fall. Peering out of Sophie's basket where Sallie had scooped them up, a jumble of Muñequitas watched us and chattered amongst themselves.
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As you can see, Las Muñequitas are in various stages of completion. Sophie had some fun this week taking group photos and some solo shots of Mirabel, who is back from her extended visit to Marina Del Rey. Our one boy doll, Eduardo, is looking forward to getting a new suit of clothes and a haircut in the next few days. We will post updated photos of the dolls as they are completed.
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Other sewing news: Sophie got a new sewing machine and we are learning how to use it. Also, I finally finished Sophie's summer sundress, which has a black bodice and a vintage, yellow and black, Parisienne-imaged full skirt with pockets. It is the first dress for my new project of making patterns from vintage dresses, which I call "Pale Pink Patterns for a Perfect Fit!"

Well, it's Friday at 6:00 p.m. and I type this from my day job, so it's high time to go home. We've asked Sallie to be our guest blogger this month, so look for her byline soon!

In the meantime, have a great week!

Sasha

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Christmas, Noms de Plumes and the Launch of the Tomboy Doll

12/22/2011

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_I'm at the Farmer's Market at Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles, having a hot chocolate
with just the tiniest bit of whipped cream. All around me are holiday shoppers, grabbing a quick bite between purchases at the nearby Grove. I'm thinking about my sister,
Veronica, who was here two years ago and fell in love with this place. (Veronica is a nom
de plume that I chose for her. All of us at dollsbysasha have noms de plume, including
Raphael, Sallie, Colleen, Sophie and Sophie's partner in Costa Rica, Malekai Lucien, who
wins the prize for noms de plume!)
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_I'm also thinking about Veronica because she challenges me in my dollmaking. It was she who requested that her birthday doll, Winnifred Harmonia, have highlights. As a result, I had to figure out how to work gold embroidery thread into the rust colored braids. Later, the idea of highlights inspired the ribbon-streaked bundles that are now my signature hairstyle for all dollsbysasha.




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_But highlighting wasn't enough for Veronica. (Veronica is a potter in Montana who made the doll tea set that you may have seen here. You can visit MUDDSLINGER POTS facebook page to see some of her work.) After toting Winnifred back and forth to her studio, Veronica realized that the green taffeta party dress wasn't going to work for her little assistant, so she requested that I make the following: khaki pants, a white tank top and a denim artisan's apron.

That was in March and with all the doll making this year, I didn't get it done and it has been preying upon me. So this week, I set up Santa's workshop, heated up a pot of hot chocolate, and got to work. You can see the finished product here, modeled by Mimosa, with of one of Veronica's vases and a bowl.

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_ Mimosa looked so cute in Winnifred's new outfit, she didn't want to take it off. The saucy little khaki pants seem to have brought out the tomboy in her. And hence, another inspiration has given birth to the Tomboy Doll, to be launched soon! I'm so excited about it, I haven't even told Sophie and Malekai yet. (They've been busy working in Santa's Workshop, Puerto Viejo, on some clothespin dolls and chocolate, which sound like a great combination!)

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_I can't complete this blog post without telling you about Sallie's holiday dress, which I made last Sunday after we finished her doll, Lucia. The dress was a challenge, as I only had so much green taffeta. Luckily, I had a black taffeta vintage skirt that I was able to piece with the green to make wide stripes, with just enough green left over for the bodice. I finished with black straps and a little black ruffle at the neckline. We both especially like the back, which is tied with black and green ribbons.

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_I think the reason I've been enjoying this holiday season so much is because I have re-discovered my creative side, which is the child in all of us. Remember standing in front of that easel in kindergarten with pots of paint and that long-handled paintbrush? Did any of us have the slightest hesitation filling that paper with ocean-liners, suns, giant flowers, or our entire families in front of imaginary houses?

The more I sew, the more I dip into that childish delight in drawing, creating and figuring things out, coming up with new ideas and putting them into action. So, discover your inner child and let your creative side bubble up. You'll be amazed at what you will find.

Have wonderful Holiday, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or by any other name.

Hasta pronto!

Sasha

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